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Patriots Marcus Cannon Continuing to Recover from Lymphoma

Heralded New England Patriots rookie, Marcus Cannon, is not going to let anything keep him from the first day of training camp in August.

In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Cannon -- the remarkable TCU standout who discovered eight days prior to the NFL draft that he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma -- described the progress that he has made. With a chemotherapy treatment scheduled for this week, the extremely positive and upbeat rookie detailed his coping process throughout these eventful last few months.

"The first thing my mom and my dad told me to do is pray," Cannon told the Star-Telegram last week, "and here we are today. I'm a fifth-round Patriots draft pick, and half the mass I had is gone. For everybody who doesn't believe, here's your reason to believe. It's a miracle in itself that somebody with a life-threatening disease gets drafted."

Interestingly enough, Cannon initially discovered a lump on his lower abdomen when he was 15 years old. When he questioned doctors about it, he was told that "it was an infection and would go away." However, when the lump began to get noticeably larger, the former TCU star realized that he needed to get himself checked out a little more closely.

"It was pretty shocking," Cannon's father, Ebbie Cannon, told the Star-Telegram about the diagnosis. "We had never had cancer in our family. We thought maybe it was a mistake or something."

Despite the fact that teams were told by doctors that there was a 90 percent chance of recovery from the disorder, Cannon ended up falling to the fifth round before being scooped up by the Patriots. A chance was all this young man needed, and that’s precisely what he got from one of the most respected franchises in all of sports.

"All I can do is keep doing what I'm doing," Cannon said. "That's to keep praying and accept my healing."

In league full of instability, drama and unfortunate headlines, New England’s rookie serves as a reminder of what’s truly important in life.